CORRELATION BETWEEN SOILS AND SAGEBRUSH-DOMINATED PLANT-COMMUNITIES OF NORTHEASTERN NEVADA

Relationships between sagebrush-dominated plant communities and soil-site variables were examined on 372 relatively undisturbed rangeland sites of the Humboldt National Forest in northeastern Nevada, USA. Site and soil-physical variables that best discriminated between the 15 community types studied included mollic epipedon thickness, elevation, subsoil clay content, total soil depth, subsoil thickness, total water holding capacity, A-horizon thickness, A-horizon rock content, rooting depth, and subsoil rock content. Soil-chemical variables effective in discriminating between community types included both surface and subsoil variables. -from Authors